Anton Infant School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Anton Infant School Wellesley Road, Anton Infant School, Andover, Hampshire SP10 2HF

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Outcome

Anton Infant School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Anton County Infant School is a welcoming and inclusive community. Pupils enjoy coming to school each day and attend regularly. The school is ambitious for all pupils and has high expectations of their learning. Pupils respond well to this, and as a result, most pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are kind to each other. They play and learn together well. Although pupils say that bullying is not common, they are rightly confident that they can talk to an adult if needed and any issues will be resolved. The school celebrates those who demonstrate the school’s values of resilience, independence, love, creativity and curiosity. Pupils feel safe in school. They form strong and trusting relationships with their class teachers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are taught the importance of playing their part in the school community. Many pupils benefit from roles and responsibilities such as being on the school council or taking part in school litter picking. Pupils also enjoy participating in a range of extra-curricular activities, including sport, music and creative clubs. Pupils also benefit from fundraising at a local and national level. This helps them understand more about the world around them.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school acts decisively to raise standards and embed change. Thus, the school continues to improve. There is a shared vision. Therefore, staff are positive about the school’s on-going journey of improvement. Everyone works well together to make sure that changes impact positively on pupils. Staff value the actions taken to help them to 1 and 2 April 2025

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manage their workload and well-being. The governing body carries out their duties effectively to support the school’s vision being realised more and more.

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The school’s well-sequenced curriculum sets out the small steps of knowledge that pupils need to learn from Reception to Year 2. Staff have secure subject knowledge. This helps them to explain and model ideas well to pupils. Staff support pupils to address any mistakes or misunderstandings they may have. The school prepares pupils well for their next steps in learning. However, in some subjects, the school does not check how well pupils have remembered previously taught knowledge. This means that pupils in these subjects do not achieve as well as they could.

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There is a clear ambition for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to achieve well. The school quickly identifies pupils’ individual needs. This means adaptations in lessons for pupils with SEND are precise across the curriculum. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well.

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Reading is prioritised highly. Staff are well trained to help any pupils who struggle. Catch- up activities give pupils the valuable practise they need. Pupils learn to become fluent and confident readers, enjoying a range of fiction and non-fiction books. The school ensures that staff show pupils how to use their reading knowledge in their writing. This work starts in the early years. Pupils learn to develop their language skills and develop an enthusiasm for writing. As a result, pupils are now producing more accurate and confident writing across the school. This improvement is also seen in mathematics. The school has revised its approach to ensure that pupils master essential mathematical concepts more securely.

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Pupils focus well on their learning. Staff apply the shared school routines and procedures consistently. This begins in the early years. Staff ensure that pupils understand the rules of the school, to be ready, respectful and safe. Pupils learn to work together and communicate well with each other. Pupils then apply these skills across the school. The school works effectively with parents and carers and external agencies. This helps pupils who need support to improve their behaviour. For example, pupils learn how to adapt their behaviour in different situations effectively. The school checks pupils’ attendance rigorously. When attendance dips, it acts swiftly to address this. As a result, pupils’ attendance is in line with the national average.

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During personal, social and health education lessons, pupils learn about important issues such as how to keep safe online. They understand about protected characteristics and the importance of not discriminating against others. For example, they know that discrimination based on race is unacceptable. Pupils also benefit from the wide range of visitors to the school. This helps pupils to understand more about the world around them. For example, nurses and midwives come to speak to pupils about their jobs in the local community.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 1 and 2 April 2025

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the school does not check whether pupils have remembered previously taught knowledge. As a result, pupils’ misconceptions are not always identified, and they do not achieve as well as they could in these areas. The school needs to ensure that pupils’ understanding is checked so that they can build on their knowledge and connect their learning over time.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in March 2015.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 1 and 2 April 2025

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In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 1 and 2 April 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 23 January 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one unregistered alternative provision.  The headteacher started at the school in January 2023.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector spoke to senior school staff, subject leaders, members of the school governing board and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ books.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered 1 and 2 April 2025

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  The inspector considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. He also took into consideration the online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Neil Pilsworth, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 1 and 2 April 2025

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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